The Spinto Band – Nice And Nicely Done

The Spinto Band – Nice And Nicely Done / 2005 Bar None / 10 Tracks / http://www.spintoband.com / http://www.bar-none.com / Reviewed 30 June 2005

The Spinto Band really feel as if they have just been transported by a time machine to the current period from the middle-nineties. “Did I Tell You” is a powerful piece of indie-pop, with definite influences touching the band through both Weezer and They Might Be Giants. Each track on “Nice And Nicely Done” is created with the utmost care, the style of music that indie-chic Velma would do eir trademark shuffle for. The thin, almost-dulcimer like sound of the guitars during “Oh Mandy” mix well with the distinct vocals (almost Local H-like) really make the track seem fitting for the end of a movie.

The ability of The Spinto Band to come through and so successfully convey emotion in what is so clearly a pop track is a tremendous feat, and the success which they do this track in and track out shows that the band has skill. While “Trust Vs. Mistrust” does not vary from the formula in any large way, its minor derivations from the normal are what makes it compelling. The track will find its way into the hands of “emo” kids as it uses some of the same structures that really find their cousins in the musical form, specifically the earliest, opening guitar lines on the track. “Crack The Whip” looks back into our more embarrassing history and incorporates the falsetto and dance-beat necessary to be considered a disco track; the result, with all of the band’s indie leaning, is a track not quite unlike the fare released by Franz Ferdinand.

The result of the entirety of “Nice And Nicely Done” is one of the strongest, most-accessible indie—pop albums since Radiohead released their magnum opus OK Computer that many years ago. There might not be the intensity or the “Wall of sound” that really beefs up the sound of so many discs, but the music on “Nice And Nicely Done” is catchy enough to compel even though there are linear (instead of meandering) tracks to follow. Even though the disc is getting its proper place in the sun by topping CMJ charts, the aforementioned accessibility of the disc really makes me think that the cross-over to greater fame and glory will only be a matter of the time. The vocal delivery of tracks like “So Kind, Stacy” all but makes that fact a definite. One of the best pop-indie albums to come out this year, for sure.

Top Tracks: So Kind, Stacy , Oh Mandy

Rating: 7.4/10